Archery. The Forgotten Sport

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Marcus26

I don't tolerate changes to include robin hood etc, if they do that they hear about it and we don't use them anymore.

The problem is that journalists have to water things down for the public. They place things in the article that are identifiable and don't threaten the reader.

Never had to do it myself, the magazines I've written for/edited were all specialist mags and the readers didn't need to be shielded in this way. But I was a victim of it: I was interviewed as editor of a role playing game magazine (Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu etc.), the interview went fine but when broadcast they had Puff the Magic Dragon playing in the background, replaced the interviewer with a squeeky gnome and made me, the magazine, and the hobby sound like complete morons.

I also ask to see all articles before printing if I didn't write them, they still make changes after I approve them, which irritates me greatly.

No journalist in his right mind will usually allow you to see a piece before it goes to press. Again, I fell foul of this, interviewed a famous fantasy author and rather naively faxed him a copy of the interview transcript for his approval, 6 weeks later and two missed deadlines we finally had his approval and printed it - very little of the original interview was left. Never did it again.

[Marcus26]

When I got into American Football I learnt more from the articles that didn't treat the reader like an idiot than the ones that did. That's when I realised that with sports you must not make every article sound like the only one that will ever be printed. Get them printed often enough and people learn very quickly.
Fill every article with "While the bows are more advanced than what Robin Hood used, they have not lost their Merry ways. These William Tells love hitting that Bulls Eye and can do it from distances such as 90m". And soon no one will bother reading them.
Football articles do not reference Pele in avery one of them.

when broadcast they had Puff the Magic Dragon playing in the background

What a pack of jerks.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Marcus26

While the bows are more advanced than what Robin Hood used, they have not lost their Merry ways. These William Tells love hitting that Bulls Eye and can do it from distances such as 90m

What a pack of jerks.

[Capt. Al]

All the papers e mailed and been asked the following Question:-

Can you send a Journalist Down to cover the event?
Answer :- We will see if anyone is free that day?
Result:- No Journalists turn up.

Hence the DIY approach eg. write your own report and take your own photo's.
E mail it to the(in my case local press) and watch as they put in a photo and report of some kid finishing 3rd in a Go Kart race and another article and photo of a kid holding a pigeon because the kid's pigeon won a race.

Balance this against 5 local kids wining their National Outdoor Titles in Archery.

I am not a Public Relations Officer, so Thank God for that, because it has to be one of the worse jobs in Archery.
Talking to press, phoning them, E mailing reports and photos.
In the end they printed NOTHING which would make you question if you want to carry on doing it when you do all the hard work and they nothing.

So I salute all those hard working Public Relations Officers for Archery.

[NeilM]

Last year I took part in a National Martial Arts event held locally. I contacted my local paper and they said they would send a photographer, but had no reporter free. "No Problemo" I am a freelance writer (on the side), in that case, can I submit 250 words.

Well, 250 is not much, but I put an informative bit together, which was nice and simple but it was accurate. What they ended up publishing bore no resemblance to what I had written, called us 'latter day Samurai' (a term I would NEVER use), and was basically rubbish.

All publicity is good publicity? Nope, we never received a single phone call from the piece, and I am not surprised.